Is there any advantage to a private gp appointment?

[Fluffyshoesandfleece]

i havent been well for a few months now - mainly indigestion and feeling sick . Went to my gp who sent me to hospital because i had chest pain (indigestion). I had ecg, blood tests etc all were ok and they started me on lanzoprozle for indigestion and i have an endoscopy at the end of july.

i feel terrible now i feel sickly, upset stomach , shaky, and really tired and now i have backache. I dont know if its side effects from the medication or a new thing.

i do take ivabradine to slow my heart rate but ive been on that for years and my heartrate seems fine.

i cant decide if i need to make another appointment or wait it out until the end of july.
the gp has a long wait for appointments and they have never been that helpful.

my husband has private health insurance through his job - its supposedly a good coverage but we have never used it even though its been there for years.

They have a private gp app and im wondering if they would actually be any better - can they actually do anything?

what would you do i feel like im going a little crazy atm

Tbh op what have you got to lose if you’ve got private coverage? I can’t really speak from personal experience, but I do know that anyone who can afford it will always choose private, so I’d say the quality of care is almost always going to be better. It might be unfortunately in your case that your current gp is already doing everything they can, but you won’t know until you go. And even if they can’t help you’ll at least have the reassurance of a second opinion

If it is anything like our private health insurance (Bupa), then you have nothing to lose. We don’t pay for virtual GP appointments and they have no effect on the policy itself - no excess or raising of premiums as they don’t count it as a claim.

Like most GPs some private ones are better than others but it’s always worth a try. They have more time and are typically more thorough

If you have private medical cover then I wouldn't hesitate. I'm sure he can order blood tests, a referral to a specialist and you'd get your endoscopy done quicker

you get appointments pretty much whenever you want. It is a lot more flexible.

the problem you may find is if they give you prescriptions or send you for other tests. These will also be private and so you will be charged full whack.

Ask your husband to check his health insurance for the cost to any other treatments before you get tied in.

wolf - im looking at the documentation tbh i have no idea whats covered all i can really find is

”Full cover for out-patient diagnostics including MRI, CT & PET scans, blood tests, x-rays, radiology and pathology when referred by a specialist.”

which might be extra tests covered i think?

tbh weve never paid any attention to it its just a thing thats on his payslip!

Sounds as if you may have to pay for prescriptions but not follow up tests.